The earliest minutes for the town council of Deseronto (in the days when it was known as Mill Point) show the names of the Reeve and four town councillors. One of the names is that of Florence Donoghue, which was intriguing, as it seemed highly unlikely that a woman could have been a councillor in 1872. The mystery was soon cleared up, as later minutes in the same volume referred to this councillor as “Mr. Donoghue”.
A check on the 1901 census shows Florence Donoghue as a male who was born on 28 January 1832. Directories of the time show Donoghue and Bro. as dry goods merchants on the south side of Main Street, at its junction with Prince Street. Donoghue and his partner, James Oliver, were still in business in 1911, when Donoghue was 79 years of age. The shop would have been one of those in the picture below:
Florence, it transpires, was fairly common as a boy’s name in Ireland in the late nineteenth century. In the 1881 census of Canada there were 64 Florences whose place of birth was Ireland. 24 of those were men. Florence Donoghue was born in Ontario, but (as his name suggests) he is listed as being of Irish descent.
Deseronto Archives 
April 15, 2009 at 8:13 pm
Not only Irish, but Italian immigrants also named their sons “Florence.” The Italians named sons after large cities “Roma” “Venice” “Naples” “Genoa.” Fairly common until after World War I for immigrant families to name sons after cities in their homeland. Cities, presumably, had a “male” character, unlike boats etc. that traditionally have a “female” character to them.
April 20, 2009 at 8:23 am
I think in Ireland it was often shortened to Flurry as a man’s name. There is a Flurry in the Irish RM books and TV series.
Florance Kennedy (and there’s another story!)
November 22, 2020 at 1:16 pm
I have at least one Donoghue, John, in my family genealogy that was in Mill Point. A letter on New Years Eve 1857 from his brother, Timothy Donoghue in Rochester, NY to his aunt Margaret McDonough Crerar while she was in Montreal mentioned Mill Point. John Donoghue’s obituary ran April 18, 1874 in the Rochester Union and Advertiser. It said he had died at Mill Point, Ontario on April 17th at the age of 35 and that his body was being transported to Rochester, NY for interment. I know that a Florence Donoghue married a Catherine McDonough and their children were Florence, Timothy, John, and Cornelius. I truly wonder if there is a connection to this Florence. Do you by chance have any information on a Jonathan or any of this Florence’s family up there or any tips on further searching? I can’t be positive it is our John, but there is a John Donoghue listed in the 1871 Canada census in Tyendinaga township as a “waggon maker”, which is what his uncle, John Hugh McDonough did for over fifty years in Rochester, NY, specifically light carriages.
November 23, 2020 at 9:52 am
Hi Tracey
The 1871 census has Florence, Cornelius and John on the same page, and Florence’s death certificate in 1920 lists his parents as Florence Donoghue and Catherine McDonough, so it looks as though this is the same family.
November 24, 2020 at 9:39 am
That is delightful! Thank you for the information. The family, as so many others in that time, were mobile and split into several regions, including Chicago, Illinois and Cinncinati, Ohio according to the family letters, of which only xerox copies remain from what I have tracked down thus far. I would be happy to send you a scan of the letter that mentions Mill Point if you would like.
November 27, 2020 at 1:52 pm
Hi Tracey
Would be interested to see that letter, yes please! You can contact me at archives@cabhc.ca. Thanks!